Conference report: dementia research and care and its impact in Switzerland.

In October 2019, a Swiss panel of experts met for the Dementia Summit in Brunnen, Switzerland, to discuss the latest scientific findings on basic and clinical research, as well as practical and political approaches to the challenges of dementia disorders in Switzerland. Here, we present the conference summary. To study pathophysiological changes, as well as the underlying mechanism of fluid biomarker changes, excellent experimental approaches, including transgenic mouse models, are available.

Accurate and precise real-time RT-PCR assays for the identification of astrovirus associated encephalitis in cattle.

A novel bovine astrovirus genotype species (BoAstV-CH13/NeuroS1) was recently identified in brain tissues of cattle as a plausible cause of encephalitis. The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate real time RT-PCR assays for the detection of BoAstV-CH13/NeuroS1 in brain tissues of cattle. Three different primer-probe combinations were designed based on BoAstV-CH13/NeuroS1 full-genome sequences of 11 different strains identified in cattle, and established in three distinct one-step real time RT-PCR protocols.

PrP-C1 fragment in cattle brains reveals features of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated PrP.

Three different types of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are known and supposedly caused by distinct prion strains: the classical (C-) BSE type that was typically found during the BSE epidemic, and two relatively rare atypical BSE types, termed H-BSE and L-BSE. The three BSE types differ in the molecular phenotype of the disease associated prion protein, namely the N-terminally truncated proteinase K (PK) resistant prion protein fragment (PrP). In this study, we report and analyze yet another PrP type (PrP), which was found in severely autolytic brain samples of two cows in the framework of disease surveillance in Switzerland in 2011.

Picosecond laser damage performance assessment of multilayer dielectric gratings in vacuum.

Precise assessment of the high fluence performance of pulse compressor gratings is necessary to determine the safe operational limits of short-pulse high energy lasers. We have measured the picosecond laser damage behavior of multilayer dielectric (MLD) diffraction gratings used in the compression of chirped pulses on the Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC) kilojoule petawatt laser system at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). We present optical damage density measurements of MLD gratings using the raster scan method in order to estimate operational performance.

Risk factors for mosquito house entry in the Lao PDR.

Background: Construction of the Nam Theun 2 hydroelectric project and flooding of a 450 km(2) area of mountain plateau in south-central Lao PDR resulted in the resettlement of 6,300 people to newly built homes. We examined whether new houses would have altered risk of house entry by mosquitoes compared with traditional homes built from poorer construction materials.

Methodology/principal Findings: Surveys were carried out in the Nam Theun 2 resettlement area and a nearby traditional rice farming area in 2010.

Noncritically phase-matched fourth harmonic generation of Nd:glass lasers in partially deuterated KDP crystals.

Noncritically phase-matched (NCPM) fourth harmonic generation (FHG) of Nd:glass laser radiation in partially deuterated dihydrogen phosphate (KD*P) crystals has been demonstrated. At an Nd:glass laser wavelength of 1053.0 nm, NCPM FHG is achieved in 70% deuterated KD*P at a crystal temperature of 18.

Mortality after failure of antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: To assess the outcome of patients who experienced treatment failure with antiretrovirals in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: Analysis of 11 antiretroviral therapy (ART) programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. World Health Organization (WHO) criteria were used to define treatment failure.

Insights from inside: the duties and activities of nurses at the psychiatric clinic Münsterlingen (CH). A qualitative study.

In the German-speaking countries: Austria, Germany and Switzerland, which have a joint annual conference in psychiatric nursing, the process of academization of nursing has led to a discussion about which adaptations to make in psychiatric nursing in order to develop a profile, which is practicable in the future. Therefore, it was necessary to describe the current duties and activities of psychiatric nurses. With this, the knowledge and abilities of the nurses were to be made more explicit and their identity was to be strengthened.

Comparative alcohol concentrations in blood and vitreous fluid with illustrative case studies.

The Toxicology Bureau of the New Mexico Department of Health performs drug and alcohol testing on approximately 2800 medical examiner cases each year across the entire state. Although blood is usually the preferred specimen for alcohol analysis, the importance of multiple specimen analysis in alcohol-related death investigation is well understood. Quantitative alcohol determination in a variety of postmortem specimens may provide important interpretive information.

Evaluation of a portable evidential breath alcohol analyzer.

The Scientific Laboratory Division (SLD) of the Department of Health acts by mandate as the regulatory agency for the Implied Consent Program for the State of New Mexico. The Laboratory is responsible for all blood and breath alcohol testing activities for law enforcement statewide. The geographical size and the nature of the state, characterized by a highly rural population, demands portable breath alcohol testing equipment.

Direct determination of the energy required to operate a single molecule switch.

Using a noncontact atomic-force and scanning-tunneling microscope in ultrahigh vacuum, we have measured the switching energy of a single molecule switch based on the rotation of a di-butyl-phenyl leg in a Cu-tetra-3,5 di-tertiary-butyl-phenyl porphyrin. The mechanics and intramolecular conformation of the switched leg is controlled by the tip apex of the noncontact atomic-force microscope. The comparison between experimental and calculated force curves shows that the rotation of the leg requires an energy less than 100 x 10(-21) J, which is 4 orders of magnitude lower than state-of-the-art transistors.

Impact of teaching interventions on nurse compliance with hand disinfection.

The impact of teaching interventions and the availability of additional dispensers for alcoholic hand disinfection was measured during three study periods. A nursing care system of relevant nursing interventions was found to be a useful tool for the assessment of compliance with hand hygiene requirements if combined with an analysis of hand disinfectant use. This study shows that compliance with hand disinfection can be improved through targeted teaching and supportive structural improvements, and that this positive impact may persist even after targeted teaching activities have ended.

Factor V Leiden mutation in postthrombotic and non-postthrombotic venous ulcers.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of the factor V Leiden mutation in patients with postthrombotic and non-postthrombotic venous ulcers.

Design: Case-control study.

Setting: Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Evaluation of 'round cells' in semen analysis: a comparative study.

The aims of this review are to evaluate the morphological differences between 'round cells' of spermatogenic and non-spermatogenic origin in semen. The latter group includes inflammatory cells like neutrophils, lymphocytes, and macrophages, and epithelial cells. A comparison was made between non-spermatogenic cells in semen samples and inflammatory cells in blood smears, using various staining procedures commonly used in routine andrology laboratories.